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Boreal birds need half the forest

Boreal bird initiative wants to see at least half of North America’s boreal forest protected from development.

Some of our most beloved migratory boreal songbirds, including the Canada warbler, have declined by upwards of 70 per cent in recent decades. (Mark Peck / Royal Ontario Museum)

By Bridget StutchburyJeff Wells

Wed., May 20, 2015

The Swainson’s thrush is probably a bird that you have never heard of before, despite the fact that it breeds in almost every province and territory of Canada and its total population numbers in the tens of millions. It is a bird that is not often noticed, it’s wispy, ethereal song is often the only indication of its presence as it returns each May from its South American wintering grounds.

Nearly one in five adults in Canada and the U.S. consider themselves birders, people who enjoy identifying and studying birds. But, like the Swainson’s thrush, you may not have noticed us. We are your friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances. We feed birds in the backyard, know that a Big Year is a contest to see who can see the most bird species in that year and we recently celebrated International Migratory Bird Day. And we birders are increasingly speaking out about the environmental future we envision for our kids and grandkids.

The initiative, which seeks to see at least half of North America’s boreal forest protected from development while ensuring responsible and sustainable management throughout the remainder, features a list of endorsing organizations almost as impressive as the goal itself.

From respected Canadian groups such as Ducks Unlimited Canada, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Nature Canada, Bird Studies Canada and Ontario Field Ornithologists to well-known U.S.-based organizations like Audubon, Ducks Unlimited Inc., and the American Bird Conservancy, these bird- and wildlife-focused organizations — and the millions of members they represent on both sides of the border — are coming together in support of a long-term vision for the conservation of birds on our continent.

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More than 1,500 international scientists signed a letter in support of this 50/50 approach to conservation in the boreal, reflecting modern conservation science that shows large, interconnected areas of intact landscape are needed to maintain a full range of biodiversity.

Unfortunately, one need not look far to find examples of boreal birds in jeopardy.

Some of our most beloved migratory boreal songbirds, including the olive-sided flycatcher, rusty blackbird, evening grosbeak and the fittingly named Canada warbler, among others, have declined by upwards of 70 per cent in recent decades. In almost every case, some combination of habitat loss and degradation is believed to be the major culprit.

A massive migratory wave of up to three billion birds is currently passing above our heads and through our neighbourhoods as they make their way north to the boreal forest to find suitable breeding habitat for the summer. Nearly half of the species commonly found in Canada and the U.S. rely in part on the boreal forest for their existence.

Birds are far from the only ones that will benefit from protecting half of the boreal, which contains around one-quarter of the world’s remaining untouched forests and, along with the Amazon, represents the last chance at implementing large-scale forest conservation in the Americas.

Woodland caribou require large ranges of mostly undisturbed habitat to successfully persist, while Canada’s internationally acclaimed sport fish are found at their largest and strongest in the pristine lakes and rivers of the boreal. Even humans have much to gain: the minimum of 208 billion tonnes of carbon stored in Canada’s portion of the boreal forest alone is equivalent to more than 1,000 years of Canada’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Recent studies indicate this figure could be even higher.

Already, two provinces — Ontario and Quebec — have stepped up and committed to protecting at least half of their northern boreal regions. Indigenous governments across Canada have been instrumental in setting aside lands through land-use plans and conservation initiatives, particularly in the Northwest Territories through a comprehensive protected areas plan and in Manitoba with the proposed Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Site.

These inspiring actions provide much to celebrate, but there is still much more to do.

As birders on both sides of the border, we are equally concerned about the future of our birds and ultimately about the future we leave to our children and grandchildren. Those elusive Swainson’s thrushes that go largely unnoticed despite being right before our eyes can’t make their own case for protecting a habitat that’s essential to their — and our — survival.

Birders can — and we’re ready to lend our voices to this effort to protect the boreal forest. It may be the greatest conservation opportunity of a lifetime.

Bridget Stutchbury is the Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Conservation at York University and the author of Silence of the Songbirds and The Private Lives of Birds. Jeff Wells is the Senior Scientist for the Boreal Songbird Initiative and the author of Birder’s Conservation Handbook: 100 North American Birds at Risk.

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